I have been told since I have an opinion on just about everything its time I started to share my wealth of knowlege. I know I am late joining the blogger world but here it is...............at last..............a site to share all my nuggets of knowledge!

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SOME REALLY GREAT CONTESTS ARE ON THE WAY!

Make sure to enter all of the contests I have running right now. There are so many I could never list them all. To get to the other contests please use the blog archive links on the side of the page. Don't forget to click on 2009 too, some are Active. You can also usethe link to all contests button on the side.

New Link To All Contests on The Side, one stop Shopping!

Port a Pong and the Jewel Basket are both Our contests of the day!! Get an extra entry daily EACH in any contest by entering them and by posting you read it in the header! You must enter Port a Pong Daily first to get a bonus entry!

Don't Forget to Check Back for New Contests, Book and Product Reviews and to see the Coming soon boxes filled in!

New Book Reviews have just been Posted!

Keep your eyes out for the new product reviews we have coming in the next week or so. Also look out for the new safety link! I am going to launch it with many reviews and giveaways! First is a Mommy I'm Here review, as busy as Rowan is I think I am going to need it. Do you know this lets you know when your child is too far or lost? Will it slow Rowan down who just found out how to escape her high chair?

DUM
DUM DUM
We will see!

JUST IN~I have added Top Ten list's for Rowan and My Self and they are there to make your shopping a little more easy! If you are looking for a gift or something for yourself and want to know a great place to shop or what to buy Jr. check out the
list, I have you covered! There is also a new safety
guide for some great ideas and products for your
home and to keep your family safe.

There is also a Easter Gift Guide with all your needs!

MAKE SURE TO KEEP UP WITH THE LOOK WHAT'S NEW LINK ON THE SIDE FOR SOMETHING NEW IS ALWAYS IN THE WORKS! I have lots of contests and product reviews planned and I list everything there.

Have you Checked this weeks Recipe?
Yum, Yum, Yum!

If there is something you guys want to see leave it in feed backor feel free to email anytime!

Rowan is a Princess. Rowan is an Fairy!Rowan is a Arabian Queen! Rowan is the Belle of theBall ! Rowan is a Bride and Boo is The Flower Girl!Rowan is already so many things and well on her way to having one of the largest imaginations I have ever seen in a child. For a little girl who is just learning howto stand and get around she is already head over heelsin love with Dancing and her version of signing. Goessomething like,"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh, ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"Bounce, Bounce, Smile!"Ewwwwwwwwwwwwww, Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"Now I am not sure what song she is singing but I am sureit is a hit somewhere. She sure thinks so. Another thing sheis really into right now is being apart of the big people world.What I have she needs. My phone, my coat, my shoes, myhairbrush and laptop. Whatever I have my hands on she hasto have her hands on. She is not unique in that department forall children want to be a big person. All children pretend theyare all grown and all children spend a large part of their earlyyears pretending they are someone else. Not only do they alldo it, the act of pretending is healthy and allows them to figure out who they are themselves. When they spend so much timebeing "other people" they learn so much about their own likesand dislikes and dreams and fantasy's and it is about one ofthe best creative outlets in their arsenal. Plus, come on guys,what person doesn't go, "AWWWWW, that is so cute!," when they see a little toddler waddling around in Mommy's shoes?Rowan will sit with me for hours right now taking off andputting on hats just so she can hear me tell her over and overagain how cute Baby looks. I know I have told you guyshow my goal is to get a whole collection of pretend toys and outfits for Rowan to play dress up and I plan on feedingher imagination as often as I can. I also know I have toldyou guys how hard it has been for me to find items for herto dress up in. Okay, let me rephrase that for I can finditems everywhere, even the dollar store, but finding Quality itemsthat were made for repeated use is the struggle. I must havebeen to a zillion, okay, zillion and one, stores that carry dressup items and until now have only found one I have wanted togo back too. Kids Toy stores and chains have a couple of itemshere and there but most of the time it is the same revisitedPrincess outfit over and over again with maybe a different colorTi-era tossed in for good measure. Now that isn't a selection.That is the same dress in five different colors. Not going to cut it for me and will not even come close to cutting it forRowan. The Costume store I found was great, I really like them but I still would like a larger selection of Toddler itemsand would also like better access to the accessories that go with it. I want the full fantasy.

Eureka, I think I have found Gold in these here hills!

Everything Princess has everything you would need to makeyour little charmer look and feel like a well, Princess. They don'tjust have a couple of items to help your child slip into a fantasyworld, they ARE a fantasy world. You guys remember how I toldyou when we move I want to have a dress up area for Rowanand build a little Wardrobe and Vanity area for Rowan to makeit look official? Hey, I don't have to do that for these guys allready have it built and they even offer a selection so I am notlimited to one choice.

Everything Princess sent a Rapunzel Gown for Rowan toreview. I sort of found that a hoot in itself for Rowan was borncompletely bald and is only now starting to grow some hair hereand there and it has been a running joke at our house and thento do a costume dedicated to a character known for her long flowinghair gave me a chuckle. Now Rowans hair will come in thick and fullbefore long and I am sure you guys will here me complaining abouta whole new line of complaints.Gosh I can never get her to Brush her hair!I didn't know tangles could get that big! What was I thinking letting her have hair so long?and many other things but for now pretending she is Rapunzel isas close as she is going to get! The costume is only too cute andI love the details such as the gathered Bodice and its Victorian feel.Another thing I like about it is unlike other costumes I have seen this one is comfortable to wear. Others I had seen at Halloweenand a few different pretend wear clothing outfitters I saw were ruff to the touch and you knew by simply touching them they would be uncomfortable to wear. Most of the ones I saw at the store left methinking what I would have that she could wear underneath for I didn't want it scratching her skin. This one is a real dress and feels soft and comfortable enough to wear all on its own. And what did it look like on?

You be the judge but I think with a couple of braids she would make the prettiest Rapunzel this side of the Castle! Everything

Princess has items for everyone and a not only a vast selectionof dress up gear for your little Princess but they also carryitems for every other part of her Royal day. You just can't findso many items made for a Princess in one place anywhere elseand I have been looking for they also have a lot of Pink itemsand Pink is Rowans signature color so I have been everywhereon the prowl looking. Everything Princess is a Pink Mecca. Theyjust can't be beat. Not only did I find a place that meets all my dress up needs they do so in a way that brings me the bestselection at the best prices and offer a quality that just can't befound anymore. Make your Child feel like a Princess every momentof the day for they also carry outdoor items like Ribbons and somepretty darn awesome tools for a Sand Castle so the King will rush home too! They have one of a kind items like the Royal Princess Throne( Um, yes it is what is sounds like!)and the Lounge Chair is going to be under the tree for her thisnext Christmas for it is too cute! From Bedtime to the Kitchen to clothes for dress up, every day or play, Everything Princess bringsyou the royal treatment but you only end up paying a paupersprice! That chair I want? Only $79.99. I was looking at a Pink Bean Bag Chair elsewhere that costs more then that andthis is a chair! They even make shopping easy for you by breaking it down by age or Princess. I feel like a wicked Step Mother for not having found this place when Rachel was youngerfor I am sure she is going to wish my a nasty Green wart whenshe sees some of the loot Rowan ends up with! I started outlooking for something Pink for Rowan, found out she really was aPrincess and now we are living in a fairy tale, Everything Princess makes any little girls Dreams come True!

Do you have a Princess at home too? The this isthe place for you for Everything Princess is going to giveone of my readers a $50.00 Gift Cert for their store. Toenter just head over to the site and take a look around andthen come back here and post what item you like the best!The contest will start tonight and run to Midnight on April26th. USA and 18 and older can enter daily and the winner will be contacted by email and have 72 hours tocontact me with their mailing information. As alwaysyou can earn a bonus entry by entering the contest ofthe day every day and then posting that you did hereand other ways to enter are posted below.

Too Sweet!

Michigan Mom of a 16 year old son and a 4 month old daughter. Also Mother to my favorite child a 4 year old Jack Russel named Boo. I have
my degree in Culinary Arts and I am also a published free-lance Children's writer. My hobbies are reading, writing, Video games, movies, music and
finding a great deal. I love to shop and my clothes and shoe wardrobe are very important to me. I also love
to find deals at garage sales and shop thrift stores for you never know what you are going to find!

John is 43 and grew up in Detroit. His Father John and Mother Grace have both passed but his Step Mother Sandy, Uncle Bob and Brother Charlie are all still kicken. He has 4 children, 3 from a previous marriage and one with me. Eric is 25, Jake is 19, Rachel is 12 and Rowan is 4 months. He also has 2 Nephews and 2 Nieces and 2 great Nephews plus his sister in law Karen. He worked as a Firefighter for the Detroit Fire-Department for many years before taking an early retirement. During that time he also worked part time as a commercial trucker and went fulltime after he left the Fire Department. The wonderful Michigan economy saw him laid off in January of last year and after looking for work for many months he decided to go back to school and find a more marketable career. He likes to think collage chicks dig him but he is somewhat delusional. His hobbies are reading, anything world war2, crossword puzzles, ( he cheats) and news programs. UHHHHG, he drives me nuts with those. He also plays bass in a band called the Stankslingers and they are pretty good. They play local bars and their music is very eclectic. Everything from 1960-to present rock, little blues, country and even TV theme songs. His Brother plays the Drums in the band and his best friend Mitch plays Guitar. Sean is the singer and also plays guitar. I met him because he grew up down the street and is good friends with my sons father and we have known each other a long time. We have been together going on 3 years and though we vote different and have way way way different political views we do have a lot of other things in common. We have one child together and plan on moving south when we can. The thing I like best about him is I can kick his butt at Jeopardy on a regular basis. He is totally devoted to his daughter Rowan and she is such a Daddies girl. He is going to help me with book reviews so you should hear from him more soon!

Andrew just turned 16 and is a junior in High school. He is very smart and an avid reader. He is just now getting into modern mainstream writers for he was hooked on the classics fora long time and loves Jules Verne, H.G Wells, Tolkien as well as lots of others. He is great at football and swimming but is a video game junkie and WOW most of all. Since he was little he and I have been very competitive with each other and we try to pick games we can play together. He also loves board games and is just gettin really good at cards. He has been to Disney a bunch of times as well as lots of Educational trips to places such as Mammoth Cave and Washington D.C. He is also a History and Military buff and is really informed. He also beats John at Jeopardy. One of his new favorite things to do is Skeet shoot and target practice. He spends most weekends with his Dad Roger who he is very close too and is also crazy about his Uncle Scott and Aunt Tina who are awesome people. He has two other Uncles and one Aunt and a bevy of cousins. Both of his Grandmothers are special to him and he spends as much time with them as he can. Andrew is a very polite young man and because of that all the neighbors here love him and he helps them as often as he can. He is also a little kid magnet and dotes on his sister and I feel sorry for any boy who tries to date her. He Begged for a baby brother or sister for ten years or so before he gave up. I told him the doctor said I couldn't have anymore so it was a huge shock when she arrived. Boo the pooch is his and being as cute as Boo is and Cute as Rowan is he knows they are spoiled rotten already.There is also a cat at his Dad's that is adorable and he refers to the three as the Axis of Evil with the dog as the leader since all three get away with anything.

Disclaimer:Everything I write about is my opinion and soley my responsability. If you have a question or disagreement please feel free to email me.All Reviews are my own opinion and honest whether they are good or bad. The is no embellishing or sugarcoating and everything is from the heart. I do not recieve money for any of the reviews you see or will see here and in some cases I have bought the product by myself or its a product I just feel strongly about.There are times I will be given a product to review but it no way does that mean I will slant my opinion of said product. What I feel will be the review you get.Giveaway winners are chosen at random and will be notified by email unless stated otherwise in the rules. I will verify that they have followed the rules and they will have a preset time frame to respond to me or a new winner will be chosen. I will also let you know in the notification email if the prize is being sent by me or a sponser. Please feel free to email me with any questions. michelledraveski@yahoo.com

Rowan is my miracle for after my son was born the doctor told me that because of medical problems I would not be able to have any more children. Her Father already has 3 children and he thought 3 was enough so about 5 years ago he had a vasectomy. Good thing for Rowan he never went back for the follow up to see if it worked. When I found out I was pregnant with little miss thing the Doc did some blood work and called me back to let me know I tested positive for trisomy.A genetic condition that comes in varying degrees that go from very bad to really horrible and most kids end up as mis-carriages or still Born's and the few that do go full term die before their first birthday .I tested positive for the worst kind. I had to wait 2 and 1/2 very long months for an amino test then another 2 weeks for the results and thought I would die just waiting. The results came back that I did not pass it to her and she was very healthy! Just like with my son I got very sick at the end of my pregnancy and they called me in to induce. They started the pictocian and shut it off fast for I went into labor on my own. Rowan came really quick for I was only dilated to 2 when the Doc came to give me an epidural and before it even took effect I told him I was going to have her now. I got a laugh and a wink and asure you are but they checked none the less and she was already half here. After a lot of panic on the doctors part Rowan flew into the world in less then five minutes. In fact she came so fast she hurt herself and injured her throat so she ended up in NICU for the first week of her life where they ran every test in the world on her to only find out she was perfect. I could have told them that! Since then she has been growing in leaps and bounds and is so smart. I quiet possibly believe I have the worlds smartest baby. Even she can beat John at Jeopardy. She is already sitting up by herself, standing by hold-ing on to furniture and just started to scoot ( first step to crawling) around. She has babbled since she was born and is well on her way to being a rocket scientist! She is also the most beautiful, cutest, sweet, funny, loving baby ever! Her and my son are the best things thatever happened to me. The pooch too! Oh, and contrary to her Dad's and Brothers belief Rowan does not like it when you pinch her cheeks!